


Deeper than Ink

by Schijt (Modernise)



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And sugary as hell, Cuddling & Snuggling, Drabble, Inspired by Music, Kissing, M/M, One Shot, Sappy, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-07
Updated: 2013-11-07
Packaged: 2017-12-31 19:44:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1035650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Modernise/pseuds/Schijt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Altaïr's already inked. Malik wants to get inked. They get inked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Deeper than Ink

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not dead, I swear.

He realised what it was that he wanted when his legs were tangled with Altaïr's, fingers intertwined like vines on a fence. Slits of the moon spilled into the room, and their evening had started rather simple. Cuddling and Television, then intimacy, a brief period of dormancy, and now this. Malik nipped at Altaïr's skin while he explained the origin and significance of each of his tattoos.

"I always thought that the Aztecs were cool, so I just got these for the hell of it, I guess," he said when he reached the tribal sleeve tattoos on his upper right arm. Right below them was the tattoo of a serpent which coiled around his arm. "I think I got that a month after my nineteenth birthday."

The solid triangle embedded into his right wrist was an accident. That diamond on his left hipbone was part of a phase. The silhouette of a flying eagle on his waist was a reference to his name. The Arabic calligraphy for—

"I want to get a tattoo," Malik interrupted. Altaïr sent him a quizzical look. "Not that I have a problem, but why? And of what?" Malik kissed Altaïr's shoulder. "Your name, so that I can remember." Altaïr squeezed Malik's hand. "I was actually planning on getting a new tattoo next week. Maybe you should come with me?"

A light chuckle. "Yeah, maybe I should."

He asked whether it would hurt. "Eh, well I'm used to it. It depends on your pain tolerance. It just stings a bit, though." He asked whether it was removable. "Laser tattoo removal is the only option. Or makeup. But the first option seems more efficient." He asked whether Altaïr agreed with his idea for the tattoo. Altaïr smiled and kissed him hard. He took that as a yes.

Malik got the Yang symbol inked into his right wrist and a bird's silhouette onto his left wrist. They may not have been eagles (or perhaps they were; Malik was no expert on avifauna), but it was his daily reminder of his Constellation. It was Altaïr, who had completed the Taijitu by engraving the Yin symbol onto his left wrist and who had gotten Malik's name written on the inside of his left arm in Arabic script.

It'd been more painful than Malik had anticipated, but Altaïr had been in the room with him and everything had been alright because of that. When it was Altaïr's turn, he didn't even flinch, he didn't bite his lips as Malik had, he didn't shut his eyes. But then it was over, and they paid the tattoo artist and retreated back into the privacy of their home.

Whispers of " _Inta nour ayni_ ," and, " _Inta hayaty_ ," reverberated throughout their bedroom. Altaïr traced the Yang on Malik's right wrist lightly. " _Habibi, ya nour el-ain, ya sakin khayali_ ," he absentmindedly murmured, " _A'ashek bakali sneen wala ghayrak fibali_."

"You still remember that song?" asked Malik with a soft smile. Altaïr nodded.

" _A'oyonak maa'aya, a'oyonak kifaya_. _Tinawar layali_."

 

**Author's Note:**

> **Arabic translations:**
> 
>   * _Inta nour ayni_ = You're the light of my eyes
>   * _Inta hayaty_ = You're my life
>   * _Habibi, ya nour el-ain, ya sakin khayali_ = My darling, light of my eye, you live in my imagination
>   * _A'ashek bakali sneen wala ghayrak fibali_ = I've adored you for years with nobody else on my mind
>   * _A'oyonak maa'aya, a'oyonak kifaya_ = Your eyes are with me, your eyes are enough
>   * _Tinawar layali_ = They light up the nights
> 

> 
> **Song credits:**
> 
>   * Title from & oneshot inspired by: "Blasted" by _Frank Ocean_
>   * Arabic song: "Habibi, Ya Nour El Ain" by _Amr Diab_
> 



End file.
